After defeating GOP darling and Trump ally Scott Walker in 2018, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’s victory was viewed as a sign of what’s to come for Democrats: taking back the White House in 2020.
As the crucial swing state continues dealing with the fallout of rioting and protests after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, some Democrats see Evers’s response and leadership as a potential pathway for another Trump victory.
Terry Rose, a county supervisor and former Democratic Party chairman of Kenosha County, told Politico he believes Evers lacks a “forceful personality” and doesn’t promote the leadership needed at the moment.
Rose said Evers’s response to rioting came too late, and that’s something that might prompt residents, even in liberal-leaning Kenosha, to reconsider when they go to the polls in November.
“He made a grave, strategic error,” Rose said. “They were allowed to run rampant and burn and burn and burn. […] Who has the governor really helped? I think he helped the Trump campaign, not the Biden campaign — unwittingly.”
Wisconsin, already in a position of national interest because of its critical 10 electoral votes that could determine the outcome of the November election, was thrust back into the spotlight in August after Blake was shot.
Video footage captured a police officer shooting 29-year-old Blake seven times in the back in front of his children. The officer, Rusten Sheskey, was placed on administrative leave, along with the other officers who were on the scene. No charges have been filed against Sheskey. Blake remains hospitalized but has since stabilized.
The response to the shooting led to protests and rioting across the country only a few months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked a wave of unrest and calls to end racial injustice and police brutality.
Kenosha officials estimated the cost of public property damage to be close to $2 million.
Evers, who authorized 500 National Guard troops to help aid local law enforcement in Kenosha, faced criticism from Republican opponents for not calling for calm in the immediate aftermath of Blake’s shooting.
Amid the unrest also sparked a growing petition to recall Evers, with organizers within several communities collecting signatures across Wisconsin.
“I just think Gov. Evers has done a poor job, and it’s just time to remove him,” Jackie Weisser, who signed the petition, said.
Evers has also sparred with Trump, whom he discouraged from coming to visit Kenosha in the aftermath of the unrest. Trump painted Evers as a weak leader, noting that he had turned down federal help to quell the unrest in his state.
Wisconsin remains vulnerable territory for Democrats and Republicans. Once considered a Democratic stronghold, the state went to Trump in 2016, the first Republican to win Wisconsin since Ronald Reagan.
Though state polls show Democratic nominee Joe Biden narrowly leading in Wisconsin, Trump has continued to make multiple campaign stops in the state throughout the election cycle.
Despite possible barriers, Evers’s spokesman Britt Cudaback said the governor’s efforts to fundraise successfully for the Democratic Party and help in building up party infrastructure will serve voters well in November.
“The governor has spent his first two years in office working with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to help build a sustainable party infrastructure from organizing to fundraising, raising millions into the [Democratic] Party,” Cudaback said. “We know the road to the White House runs right through Wisconsin, and our efforts the past two years will be critical to making sure we elect Vice President Biden and Democrats up and down the ticket this November.”
